Day: March 16, 2023

Is Ether a Security?

The NYAG sued KuCoin last week under state law, alleging that ether, post-Merge, is a security under the Ethereum blockchain’s proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. The NYAG also alleged that terraUSD (UST) and luna (LUNA) are securities, as well as KuCoin’s Earn platform. I’m not going to get into the last two – regulators have alleged for a while now that “earn” products are securities, and have settlements with various lenders to support that contention, and there are other cases looking at the terraUSD/luna ecosystem. Source

Lightning Labs’ Taro Project Faces Halt as Judge Issues Temporary Injunction for Trademark Infringement

“I was having dinner with a developer friend and he mentioned ‘taro,’” said Lightning Labs CEO and co-founder Elizabeth Stark in a declaration in the case. “I knew that taro is a common ingredient used in Latin American, Southeast Asian,and African cuisines, which were three key regions for the growth of this technology – so, I responded, ‘Wait, that’s a really cool name!’” Source FacesHaltInfringementInjunctionIssuesJudgeLabsLightningProjectTaroTemporaryTrademark CryptoX Portal

Collapse of Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank represent a challenge for crypto

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The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Silvergate Capital, some of the most crypto-friendly banks in the industry, has forced many crypto firms to hold their breath. The loss of a significant banking partner for many companies means it will be even harder for them to comply with regulations and offer their services in a way that is consistent with the expectations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. In the aftermath of the banks’ collapse, the second-most liquid U.S.-dollar pegged stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), temporarily lost its…

Playboy Lost $4.9M on Ethereum It Accepted as NFT Payments

“The market price of one Ethereum in our principal market ranged from $964 – $3,813 during the year ended December 31, 2022, but the carrying value of each Ethereum we held at the end of the reporting period reflects the lowest price of one Ethereum quoted on the active exchange at any time since its receipt,” according to the filing. “Therefore, negative swings in the market price of Ethereum could have a material impact on the company’s earnings and carrying value, while only time a rise in prices will impact…

US lawmaker suggests Signature’s collapse was tied to instability of crypto

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Michael Bennet, a United States senator representing the state of Colorado, has suggested that banks associated with crypto firms did not make “prudentially sound” decisions. Speaking at a March 16 hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Bennet brought up the recent closure of the crypto-friendly Signature Bank with lawmakers and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a discussion of U.S. President Joe Biden’s FY 2024 budget. The Colorado senator drew a comparison between the relationship of banks and crypto companies to that of institutions and marijuana dispensaries — a legal service…

Republican Congressman Tom Emmer Queries FDIC on Alleged Efforts to Purge Crypto Activity from US – Bitcoin News

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On Wednesday, Tom Emmer, the U.S. Republican congressman from Minnesota, revealed he sent a letter to Martin Gruenberg, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), regarding reports that the FDIC is “weaponizing recent instability” in the U.S. banking industry to “purge legal crypto activity” from the United States. Specifically, Emmer asked Gruenberg if the FDIC instructed banks not to provide banking services to cryptocurrency firms. GOP Majority Whip Emmer Questions FDIC’s Involvement in Purging Legal Crypto Activity Tom Emmer, a Republican politician from Minnesota, sent a letter to…

MakerDAO passes proposal for $750M increase in US Treasury investments

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Lending protocol and stablecoin issuer MakerDAO passed a proposal on March 16 to increase its portfolio holdings of United States Treasury bonds by 150%, from $500 million to $1.25 billion. The proposal aims to increase the protocol’s exposure to real-world assets and “high-quality bonds,” following its Dai (DAI) stablecoin losing its $1 peg during market volatility on March 11. The $750 million debt ceiling hike was approved by 77% of Maker’s delegates. A representative of MakerDAO told Cointelegraph: “Under this new deployment, MakerDAO would use $750 million of USDC in…